1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the assembly of truck sleepers from previously assembled modular components.
2. Background and Related Art
Truck sleepers are extensions of truck cabs that offer living quarters on board the truck. This allows, for example, a pair of drivers who are driving a truck on a long haul to take turns sleeping and driving. Modular truck sleepers are sleepers that are composed of component sub-assemblies which were completed prior to delivery to the assembly location.
Truck manufacturers face differing demands from their customers. Over-the-road trucks are built in a wide variety of configurations with many optional accessories to meet these differing demands. A truck line may be offered with hundreds of different optional accessories that can be combined in millions of different ways. The same line of trucks may be sold to customers who range from a door-to-door delivery operator who drives a truck during the day, to a cross-country trucker who lives in his truck. A long-haul trucker who lives in his truck for days at a time may want a sleeper that is as much like home as possible. A short-haul operator who has a fleet of trucks, on the other hand, may want a basic truck sleeper, or no sleeper at all. One of the ways truck manufacturers distinguish their trucks is by customizing the design of the sleeper.
Trucks are built on assembly lines to spread the costs of production over many units. The cost to assemble a line of trucks is generally proportional to the number of combinations of options available in which it can be built. The larger the number of options available on a truck, then, the higher the cost to build the truck. One of the ways in which truck manufacturers can offer a variety of optional accessories on trucks at a common assembly location is through the use of modularity.
Several of the developments in vehicle construction that have occurred through the years are discussed below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,199 to Camplin et al., for example, shows a frame assembly for an operator""s compartment. The frame assembly of Camplin, however, is fabricated to a specific size, and is thus not amenable to modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,783 to McCoy et al. shows a panel joining apparatus. The panel joining apparatus of McCoy, however, is intended for lightweight, honeycomb panels, and is thus not amenable to modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,675 to Schray shows a modular panel assembly. The device of Schray, however, relies on friction produced by a deformable cam structure to secure the panel assembly, and is thus too complicated for the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,300 to Huebner et al. shows a framed wall system. The framed wall system of Huebner, however, has extruded sections that would be too complicated for the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,278 to Boykin shows a method for forming an insulated vehicle body. The insulated vehicle body of Boykin, however, is a temporary structure and would thus not be amenable to the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,005 to Eschbach et al. shows an extrusion for an enclosure such as a truck or trailer canopy. The enclosure of Eschbach et al, however, are collapsible, and thus would be too flimsy for truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,568 to Arnold shows a cab-sleeper assembly. The cab-sleeper of Arnold is composed of a cab module joined together with a sleeper module. The sleeper module itself, however, is of welded, monocoque construction and is thus not amenable to modular assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,897 to Karapetian shows a vehicle body. The components are sized for a particular vehicle body, however, and thus various sizes of vehicle bodies could not be readily assembled at the same assembly location.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,906 to Kunz shows a floor and side wall connector. The connector of Kunz, however, would be too flimsy for the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,102 to Chuan shows a connecting mechanism for cabinets. The connecting mechanism of Chuan, however, is too fragile and complicated for the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,541 to Janotik shows a joint construction for space frames. The space frames of Janotik are sized for a particular vehicle, and thus the joint construction would not be amenable to the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,198 to Leutenegger shows a corner joint. The corner joint of Leutenegger, however, is quite complicated and would thus be expensive to manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,229 to O""hara et al. shows a body structure for a railway car. The railway car body structure of O""hara, however, involves bonding panels together to form the body, and thus would not be amenable to the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,664 to Gibb shows a free gusset metal ledger hanger. The free gusset metal ledger hanger of Gibb, however, would not be amenable to the modular assembly of truck sleepers.
Thus there exists a continuing need for improved methods for assembling modular components at a common assembly location into a variety of truck sleepers.
In one aspect of the invention a modular truck sleeper assembly is comprised of a floor that includes a plurality of sills, with a plurality of cross-members disposed between them, each of the cross-members having an end with a first member of a foot/shoe combination depending from it; and a plurality of sides, each side including a bottom stringer, a top stringer, and a plurality of risers disposed between the bottom stringer and the top stringer, with each of the risers extending beyond the bottom stringer to form a riser end and a second member of the foot/shoe combination depending from each of the riser ends; with each of the first members of the foot/shoe combination attached to a corresponding second member of the foot/shoe combination. This allows truck sleepers that vary significantly in size and trim level to be built on the same assembly line by pre-assembling and grooming the floor and sides for various sizes and trim levels of sleepers and delivering them to the assembly line for final assembly. The foot/shoe combination that allows the pre-assembled floors and sides to be assembled on an assembly line is a connector in which a foot shaped protrusion fits into a U-channel shoe. The foot and shoe are then fastened together. The foot/shoe combinations thus form corner joints to connect the floor and side sub-assemblies of a modular truck sleeper assembly.
In a second aspect of the invention the cross-members and risers to be connected by the foot/shoe combinations are spaced at a predetermined distance apart which is preferably an integral multiple of the length or width of the various versions of truck sleeper to be assembled. This allows several different sizes of modular truck sleeper to be assembled at the same assembly location by simply adding or removing sections to the floor and side sub-assemblies.
In a third aspect of the invention the grooming panels and cabinetry installed in the modular truck sleeper assembly have fasteners set at the same predetermined distance apart so they may be easily fastened to the risers and cross-members. This allows the use of various designs, types, and styles of grooming panels and cabinetry to be used to customize a modular truck sleeper, since the different grooming panels and cabinetry can use a standard fastener pattern.
In a fourth aspect of the invention the grooming panels and cabinetry installed in the modular truck sleeper assembly are fastened to the risers and cross-members with a bolt and an oval nut that becomes trapped inside of a riser or cross-member and is thus prevented from rotating while the bolt is being tightened. The anti-rotation feature of the nut allows blind tightening of the bolt and nut if, for example, the nut is covered by a grooming panel or a cabinet, or space to reach the nut during the tightening process is otherwise limited.
In a fifth aspect of the invention a method of assembling a modular truck sleeper assembly is provided that includes the steps of: i) placing a plurality of sills in a substantially parallel relationship to each other, ii) disposing a plurality of cross-members a predetermined distance apart across the sills to form a floor, with each of the cross-members having an end, and a first member of a foot/shoe combination depending from each of the cross-member ends, iii) placing a bottom stringer and a top stringer in a substantially parallel relationship to each other, iv) disposing a plurality of risers the same predetermined distance apart between the bottom stringer and the top stringer to form a side, with each of the risers extending beyond the bottom stringer to form a riser end, and a second member of the foot/shoe combination depending from each of the riser ends, and v) attaching the side to the floor by attaching each of the first members of the foot/shoe combination to a corresponding second member of the foot/shoe combination.
In a sixth aspect of the invention the side sub-assemblies can be groomed with grooming panels and cabinetry before or after the sides are attached to the floor.